ABC responds to Juan Pablo Galavis' comments on gay 'Bachelor' show

Juan Pablo Galavis, star of the latest season of "The Bachelor," had strong opinions when asked if there should be a version of the show focusing on gays.

Juan Pablo Galavis, star of the latest season of "The Bachelor," had strong opinions when asked if there should be a version of the show focusing on gays. (ABC)

Todd Martens

ABC and the producers of "The Bachelor" have issued a statement in response to comments made Friday by "Bachelor" star Juan Pablo Galavis. The latter's words were "thoughtless and insensitive" reads the statement, which is attributed to ABC, the show's executive producers and its studio, Warner Horizon Television.

The comments from the network come after Galavis indicated that a potential homosexual edition of "The Bachelor" would not be a "good example for kids to watch" on TV. Galavis went so far as to use the word "pervert" in explaining his stance.

“Juan Pablo’s comments were careless, thoughtless and insensitive, and in no way reflect the views of the network, the show’s producers or studio," read a statement given to Show Tracker from one of the show's publicists.

Galavis has issued his own apology, saying that his comments were taken out of context and that he has "nothing but respect" for the gay and lesbian community.

"I have many gay friends and one of my closest friends who's like a brother has been a constant in my life especially during the past 5 months," Galavis wrote on Facebook. "The word pervert was not what I meant to say and I am very sorry about it."

The fracas stems from an ABC party Friday evening in which Galavis attended and made the media rounds. It was at the industry event where he spoke with a reporter from the TV Page, Sean Daly, who asked Galavis for his thoughts on a gay version of "The Bachelor."

"I don’t think it is a good example for kids to watch that on TV,” Galavis said.

"Now there is fathers having kids and all that," Galavis continued, "and it is hard for me to understand that, too, in the sense of a household having peoples.… Two parents sleeping in the same bed and the kid going into bed…. It is confusing in a sense."

Galavis went on to add that it would be difficult to watch a gay person on the show because "they're more 'pervert' in a sense. And to me the show would be too strong ... too hard to watch."

In explaining his unfortunate use of language this morning on Facebook, Galavis stressed that English is his second language.

"My vocabulary is not as broad as it is in Spanish and, because of this, sometimes I use the wrong words to express myself," he said.

"What I meant to say," he continued, "was that gay people are more affectionate and intense and for a segment of the TV audience this would be too racy to accept. The show is very racy as it is and I don't let my 5 year old daughter watch it. Once again, I'm sorry for how my words were taken. I would never disrespect anyone."

"The Bachelor" debuted to big numbers in January. The episode hit a three-year high for a "Bachelor" premiere in both total viewership and the 18-49 category.